When we first decided to get chickens, my intention came from an omnivore’s point of view….FRESH EGGS! Little did I know that these little darlings would become our lovable pets first and foremost….and fresh eggs as a really cool bonus feature.
Sidenote: Wouldn’t it be cool if every pet came with an unrelated bonus feature….like if your cat does your dishes or your dog mows your lawn!???
So back in January, I promised the boys that we’d get another batch of chickens to add to our current flock of 5. The three of us spent hours researching each and every kind of chicken breed and finally decided to surprise ourselves with an assortment of 5 day-old baby chicks from the “rare breed” category from My Pet Chicken.
We were guaranteed at least 3 of these breeds (see photo on left from My Pet Chicken).
Some of these guys look so funny! With furry feathered feet, a pompadour hat, mohawk or gown of feathers!
There’s a high demand for day-old chicks (go homesteaders!) and we wouldn’t be able to get our chicks until first week of April.
They finally arrived, the post office called and left a message, “Uh, we’ve got a box for you here and it’s moving and chirping. Um. Please come asap to pick it up, like today.”
Baby chicks are shipped precisely right when they hatch, there’s actually no need for any food or water for a couple of days, as the yolk they’ve consumed during their incubation sustains them during the transport. The biggest worry is cold, so the chicks are shipped with a heat pouch – you know the type you slap and stick in your pocket when you’re skiing.
Sure enough, they arrived safe and sound!
We brought them to school to show the kids, since they were learning about “oviparous” animals (animals that lay eggs)
We toured at least 12 different 1st and 3rd grade classes with the baby chicks.
Oh I wish I had videotaped it – for some of the kids, it was the very first time they’ve ever touched a live chicken.
The oooohs and aaaaaahhhh and awwwwwws!
Falling in love…..
One of the chicks even fell asleep.
These chicks love to sleep! This little one fell asleep standing up:
We haven’t named the chicks yet, we’re spending some a little more time with them first and getting to know each of their personalities. But would LOVE to hear some ideas for names from you! Here were some from Faceobook:
Black Eyed Pea
Chica
Captain Awesome, Savior of Her Peeples (thanks Garrett)
Corn Nut
Hot Wings
Bandit (from Scotty)
Snack Pack
Extra Crispy
Gai (Chinese for chicken) from Jacqueline
Nugget
Honey Bunny
Spotty Dotty
Speckle
Cadbury
Left Eye
Scramble
Camo Chic
Mellow Peep
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Mr steamykitchen
My name is Bob and I’m in process of building a chicken coop/run and saw your palace. Was wondering if you could send me your measurements on the nesting boxes, your doors, well actually any of the measurements to give me an idea of how I should do mine. My coop is 4’x8′ with a complete structure of 8’x14′. Truly love the look of yours and would like to create one very similar.
The nesting boxes are 12″ wide by 12″ deep by 16″ tall that slope down to 14″ tall in the back.
Teraz odpowiednio trafiłeś w mój gust. Z zapartym tchem przeczytałem ten post
i z chęcią potrafię zaproponować kilka ciekawych rzechzy lub
poradzić. Może jesteś w trakcie pisania kolejnego artykuły, ja chcę
odczytu , ponieważ masz smak.
Not to worry Kate,
The chicks are quite comfortable in their nests with their sibs. They are kept warm and cozy with the heat pack.
Live cargo is never subjected to machinary, but is carefully hand processed.
It has been done this way for years quite successfully. As was pointed out, they don’t require more food for a few days, so this method is not cruel. It’s true though, they probably didn’t have a nice lullaby soundtrack to enjoy while being transported. It wouldn’t be financially sound for the chicken folks to deliver via a method that resulted in dead chicks. That would put them out of business in replacement costs.
It’s all okay, don’t worry. : )
Those chicks are absolutely adorable – BUT – I so hope you will think twice before ever again buying day-old baby chicks through the mail. Imagine what they go through: stuffed into boxes, sorted on noisy equipment, jammed into the cargo holds of planes or onto the backs of trucks. These chicks are treated just like any other pieces of mail, and in many cases the little guys are killed in transit through exposure to extreme heat or cold, by being delayed without food or water, or by being crushed. It’s just awful!
OMG THEY PUT THOSE CHICKENS IN THE MAIL??!!?? aaaiiiieeeeeeee!!!!!!
I’m not an expert but I think the little yellow chick that keeps hiding behind the heating element may need extra attention as it appears to be weaker than the others.
If we assume that the population of rooster and hen chicks are born approximately equally what happened to all the cute little roosters?
I chose to not have chickens when I realized that they kill most of the rooster chicks because people only want hens.
I HAD to link to your post on my blog… we’re (hopefully) exploring the possibility of having urban hens in Edmonton. Bylaw and City Council are looking at it, and in a few weeks, we may be able to have our own little insect controllers patrolling and fertilizing the garden!
Oh my gosh, Jaden- how cute are they? Adorable! That said, I really, really, really want your table! 😉
Oh how cute are these furballs ? I want one now or two or three!
katniss, peeta, etc!! hunger games
They’re so adorable! Thank you for sharing.
When I was young we lived in the country and raised baby chicks every year – some for the freezer and some survived for egg production. It left me with a great memories and survival skills as well. The laying hens were my pets and I used to make little scarves and capes for them and carry them around. If I had a rooster now I think I’d name him Harley. Or Little (after Chicken Little) How about Henny Penny?
I remember the feel of the soft and fuzzy chicks from my childhood:) I can’t show the video to my girls as they will want me to follow your steps (which I would do in a second if we were not living in an apartment:) As soon as I get my hands on some SoCal dirt, I am getting me some chickens!
Thanks for allowing me to “touch” them vicariously:) I know you will enjoy them:)
Oh my – those are so cute! We had baby chicks when I was 4-5 yrs old (now I am 35!) and you brought back those memories. Most cherished moment is feeding them and getting them to come under their cover at the end of the day! About names, “Sweetie”, “Cutie” are all I can think of right now..keep the videos coming! 🙂
I’ve always wanted to name something Reebok! So if yo have an especially active chick he might be ‘Reebok’!
Thanks for posting this as I remember back when I was in 3rd grade (I’m 51) and the teacher had an incubator and we (the class) got the eggs and watched them hatch. It was amazing, then and now! We each got to take home a chick for the night after a couple of days and take care of it. I have no idea what happened to them afterwards, but it left a lasting impression upon me. So much so that I’m in the process of starting a biz because of wanting a decently designed t-shirt with a chicken on it! Look for Farm Groove soon! Thanks, Carter
So cute…I like the name Mr. Peepers.
You are becoming a regular Tori Spelling, taking her chick coco to red carpet events 😉
Pets totally come with side benefits! Dogs teach you to live in the moment, and also force you to exercise, and cats are snuggly and they kill mice.
Oh my goodness – those chicks are absolutely precious. The looks on those kids’ faces says it all. I think you made their week!
Thank you so much for the videos. Your new family members are so cute. Tell me something, i assume that the ones with the mottled coloring will mature with either the same or quite similar color and markings. What about the yellow ones. Do they retain that color also? Finding a name is needs all the input available. Have a wonderful holiday weekend.
Adorable! My mother in law has oodles of pet chickens. Several years ago, she decided to let my then 9-year old brother in law name one of the new chicks. This little chick pecked at the ground more than the others, so he was named Pecker. Now that my brother in law is 16, he gets a big kick out of that.
Cute cute CUTE! We hope to get our chicks next month. We’re thinking of using a theme to name them, maybe hobbits from Lord of the Rings or something nerdy like that.